Nerve Damage
by LittleDesiredCullen
Summary: No one knows much about Bella Swan, neither do they care to. She is an introvert and hides behind her obsession for art. Now, she is on the verge of not graduating from high school – all because of her anxiety. She wasn't expecting Edward Cullen to be the exact same. And she certainly wasn't expecting him to pull the fire alarm during their biology exam. (AH)


_Oh dear... I can't believe I am going to write a story about both Bella AND Edward. I am not too fond of these two, but fanfiction has_ _definitely improved their personalities, so I'll give them my own twist... There will be romance, but don't expect it to come so quickly - these two are merely acquaintances, after all. This Edward, if I may add, will not be an asshole or anything of that sort. He is awkward, very self-conscious and a complete introvert - just like Bella. This story will be mostly fixated on the healing of these two characters and them overcoming their fears. Just a ton of family fluff, we will see the Cullen siblings and Carlisle and Esme a LOT. So do not fret! Also, the Cullen's are all human, by the way. I am looking forward to creative freedom this will give me!_

 _Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this and_ _do tell me if I should continue with this story or not._

* * *

 _You are not going to pass this..._

 _You are going to fail..._

 _You are such a failure..._

I blink once. Twice, trice and whatever comes after that – but my eyes are producing more tears than I am able to blink away.

I force in a deep breath, then another – it didn't help to tame my heart, I felt like I was breathing through a straw.

This was how I was going to die, from a god damn panic attack. My body would drop pathetically to the floor in front of all my classmates and their laughter would be the last sound I would hear before I black out eternally from a lack of oxygen.

 _A very admirable way to go, Bella. Very Honorable indeed._

Scowling down at the exam paper, my eyes dart over the question again and again and fucking again. Twenty times I have read these same exact words and each time it makes less sense than the last.

I had to clench my pencil to fight back the urge to not shred the paper and shove it up Mr. Berty's ass.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to run away. I wanted to fucking fall into an coma and never wake up.

Peering up from under my damp lashes, I scan the room, desperate to find someone else in the same state of hopeless as myself. It didn't take long to discover how deep I was in failure – every single one of my classmates had their heads bent over their papers, eyes narrow in concentration, their pencils waltzing and producing pages worth of intelligent, passing responses.

And here I was, staring at them with a burning envy, on the verge of a panic attack from the unfairness of it all.

There was only one that stood out among all these perfect, white sheep. Much like myself, he positioned himself at a table that was far away from the snobby honor role students. Long, pale fingers were intertwined in thick, bronze hair. The fierce way he grips at it makes me flinch, but he drifts his eyes to the ceiling, as though he were willing it to collapse on him.

Misery is written on every inch of his face.

Suddenly, he arm shoots into the air. Many eyes dart in his direction and he adverts his gaze to his desk, mildly embarrassed.

Mr. Berty calls on him. "Yes, Mr. Cullen?"

"May...may I use the bathroom, p...please?" He rasps out quietly. A slender arm is curled around his stomach and once again, he has attracted the attention of almost the entire class. He hand are wringing, clearly uncomfortable.

The teacher heaves a sigh. "If you are so desperate, then yes – go. But I want you back here in five minutes. No later than that. No lollygagging. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

His chair scraps loudly against the tile floor as he stumbles to gain his footing. I wince a little at the disturbed silence, as does everyone else, but I feel a pang of guilt at the flustered state of him.

 _Yes, I too would like to crawl into a hole and never come out._

In the midst of his awkward exist, his gaze shifts upward and with everyone's eyes fixated to their papers, mine is the one to be snagged by his vivid green ones. For a mere ten seconds, we maintain contact and it was by far the longest ten seconds that I have experienced in my life. Within that time, he offered me a faint smile of sympathy and he grazed his fingers against the surface of my desk as he passed by.

 _'Don't leave me here! Take me with you!'_ I ached to snatch his hand and break free from this prison with him. But with a soft click of the door, he was gone and a swell of heat floods into my core in his wake.

What a lucky bastard.

I can't help but clench my hands in envy at his freedom. If I were him, I would have disregarded those five minutes and never return. And those minutes crawled by with an agonizing slowness – usually time dragged when you are forced to stay in a place you hate. But my god, I have never loathed a human as much as the Cullen boy.

I don't know much about him. I don't even know his name. But I've seen glimpses of him around the school, mostly in the library, sitting in the exact same chair – the one that was hidden behind a shelf that held thick and dust caked books on Psychology and World War 2. He just arrived here at the beginning of the year, bringing with him four other siblings of equal age and outstanding beauty.

We were in the same class first period and he never really said much – but then again, neither did I. He hated getting called on, he would fidget and his voice was quiet and unsteady, his face bearing the same expression of a deer standing frozen in front of an approaching car.

I couldn't help but bask in his awkwardness. It was beyond relieving to know that I wasn't the only introvert in the school.

Focusing my attention back to the thick, half finished booklet in front of me, my lungs heave out a shaky breath.

I close my eyes against the burn of tears.

"Stop idling, Ms. Swan," Berty tells me sternly. "You can't afford to-"

The fire alarm went off.

No one moved, no one even dared to blink – everyone just sat rigidly in profound shock, pencils and pens frozen in movement. Eyes darted to their neighbor, staring widely, too stunned to produce a word.

 _Was this_ actually _happening?_

 _Was this actually fucking happening? Has some god above heard my silent pleading?_

Apparently I wasn't experiencing a anxiety induced hallucination, because the next thing I knew, we all abandoned our stuff and joined the hoard of shuffling teenagers to the football field. A cluster of voices tangled with the deafening blare of the alarm.

"Who would pull the fire alarm during an exam?"

"Who _wouldn't_."

"This is bullshit. What difference is this going to make? They're going to make us finish our exams either way."

"I hope this isn't a prank – maybe they'll cancel exams and they'll just pass everyone."

If I wasn't so shell shocked, I probably would have screamed in pure and absolute delight.

In the middle of the sea of human bodies stood that penny haired boy, looking as though Death had come and slapped him across the face. He forest eyes were wide and dancing, bouncing from one face to the next. He was twitching, gnawing on his bottom lip.

"Hey." I wasn't expecting myself to speak to him, but here I was, walking at a crawl by his lanky form.

He jolted a little and peered down at me. His eyes were still wild – thrilled, even.

It took him a few seconds to gather himself before he stuttered out a quiet, "H...Hello."

The cold air of early morning pierced through my the thin fabric of my sweater as we finally exist the school and I shiver as soft drizzles of rain tickle the back of my neck. I throw my hood up. He does the same.

I speak again. "Crazy, isn't it?"

He nods. "Yeah," He agrees, his eyes aimed to the mush of damp grass below. "Coincidental."

"I think it's great." I murmur, tugging at my sleeves shyly and when his gaze flits to mine in shock, I offer him a small smile.

Two dark eyebrows disappear behind his tousled hair. "...Really?"

I let out a laugh that was anything but graceful. "What's not wonderful about exams being canceled? Or at least postponed..."

He hums quietly and he slips his hands into the pocket of his jeans, staring off distantly to the thick wall of trees surrounding the school. He is still biting tenderly at his lip, but his shoulders are not as tense as they were two minutes ago – it was like the tension had rolled right off of him.

Suddenly, it dawned onto me and with a quick sweep of my eyes to make sure that we were a safe distance from any eavesdroppers, I whisper to him.

"You pulled it, didn't you?"

As my words touched his ears, his body gave a horrible, violent jolt as though they had the ability to inflict pain.

I instantly regretting saying anything at all.

But surprising, after a few seconds of him trying to tame his labored breathing, he leaned down toward me and before a syllable could pass through his parted lips, a booming voice interrupted, echoing across the small field.

The principal stood there among the teachers, microphone in his hand.

"If I could have your attention please! Yes – this way. Thank you. Now, this is critical that everyone listens carefully and remain calm. The police have asked us to leave the school property as a bomb threat has been reported. I ask that you all..."

A tickle of air caressed my ears and I shivered, drawing my attention to the boy that now stood mere inches from my temple. His forest eyes were moist, struggling to stay gravitated to my muddy ones for they were so vivid with terror and fierce anxiety.

"Y...Yes," He stammered out in a rush. "I pulled it. But-" He gestured a trembling hand toward the principle and the two police officers that stood by his side. "I didn't do that."

* * *

 _I hope that little introduction gave you some interest. We'll explore more of Edward and Bella next chapter, and some the Cullen siblings as well. And don't be shy to review, I would love to know your thoughts and if this story is worth writing/starting._

 _Until next time,_

 _xoxo_


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